A SHIFT in focus and consolidation of several offices at litigation practice Silverbeck Rymer led to a significant downsizing of fee-earners in 2005-06 and a marginal rise in turnover. Revenue went up by 2 per cent to £16.7m from last year's £16.4m, while fee-earner numbers dropped from 172 to 111. The firm still has just four partners, of whom two are full equity.

Silverbeck chose to concentrate its work on claimant litigation during the year, moving away from its defendant practice. The firm's new chief executive officer Rob Farnham cited economies of scale and the fact that claimant work fitted better into Silverbeck's process-driven model as the major factor for the strategic shift. Silverbeck has only 19 lawyers.

The firm expects turnover and its staff numbers to rise again during the current financial year, although the headcount is unlikely to hit the heights of 2005 when it employed 272 people.

Thanks to its tiny partnership, Silverbeck enjoys one of the highest profit per equity partner (PEP) figures in the UK. Each of its two equity partners took home £925,000 last year, despite the firm's overall profit margin being just 11 per cent.